Douglas Allen MacHutta v. State ( 2017 )

Order entered February 13, 2017 In The Court of Appeals Fifth District of Texas at Dallas No. 05-16-00846-CR DOUGLAS ALLEN MACHUTTA, Appellant V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee On Appeal from the Criminal District Court No. 7 Dallas County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. F15-23625-Y ORDER Before the Court is appellant’s February 6, 2017 motion to hold the appeal in abeyance or grant time to resolve record issues and restart the briefing timetable. Appellant seeks abatement of this appeal pending resolution of the State’s appeal in companion cause no. 05-16-01160-CR or, alternatively, a pause in the briefing deadlines so that the parties may reconstruct and file by agreement five defense exhibits admitted into evidence during the hearing on appellant’s motion for new trial that have been lost. On February 10, 2017, Official Court Reporter Vearneas Faggett filed a supplemental reporter’s record with two of the five exhibits. We DENY relief on that part of appellant’s motion requesting an abatement until after cause no. 05-16-01160-CR is decided. We GRANT the alternate relief sought in appellant’s motion. We ORDER counsel for the parties to confer with each other and with Official Court Reporter Vearneas Faggett by February 27, 2017, regarding whether the remaining lost defense exhibits from the new trial hearing may be reconstructed and replaced by agreement of the parties. In the event some or all of the exhibits may be filed by agreement, we further ORDER Official Court Reporter Vearneas Faggett to file a supplemental reporter’s record containing the agreed exhibits by March 6, 2017. In the event one or more of the three remaining lost exhibits cannot be replaced by agreement of the parties, we ORDER counsel for appellant to file a letter with the Court by March 6, 2017, identifying which exhibits cannot be replaced by agreement of the parties and indicating whether such exhibits are necessary to resolve the appeal. We EXTEND the time to file appellant’s brief until April 3, 2017. We DIRECT the clerk to send copies of this order to the Honorable Elizabeth Frizell, Presiding Judge, Criminal District Court No. 7, to Official Court Reporter Vearneas Faggett, and to counsel for the parties. /s/ LANA MYERS JUSTICE